Broom guard or bridle



Nov. 2, 1937. A. D. FIVESHILLING BROOM GUARD OR BRIDLE Filed Sept. 5, 1936 Patented Nov. 2, 1937 oNirED area-res PATENT orries 3 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in broom guards or bridles adapted to be attached to an ordinary broom, with a view of increasing its efficiency to prolong the life of the same, and to 5 enable the broom to be converted into a dusting implement.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a guard or bridle to be applied to a broom and be retained thereon by its inherent clamping qualities, and one which can be easily applied without displacing or breaking the broom corn.

Another object of my invention is to provide a broom guard or bridle formed of one piece of wire, whichobviates the necessity of inserting the handle of the broom therethrough in order to position the guard or bridle on the broom head, it being simply necessary to insert the head of the broom into the open side of the guard or bridle and fasten the ends of the wire forming the same to ether.

A'further object of my invention is to provide a broom guard or bridle so that a cloth or any other suitable material may be placed over the sweeping end of the broom corn without removing the bridle from the broom, and whereby the inherent clamping qualities of the guard or bridle will securely fasten the cloth or other material to the broom without in any manner making it necessary to disconnect the ends of the wire forming said broom bridle.

A further object of my invention is to provide the guard or bridle with means to retain the same in closed position so that they will occupy comparatively little space and not become entangled with each other when packed for shipment, or when carried in handbags or cases, such as used by house-to-house canvassers.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a broom guard or bridle constructed of one piece of wire in which two clamping side members are positioned at opposite sides of the broom head, one of said clamping members being formed by opposite ends of the wire with one end disconnectible from the other to permit of ready insertion of the broom into the guard or bridle, and the other side member being provided with a loop centrally between its ends whereby the broom can be conveniently hung upon a nail or other means provided for suspending the same.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in the novel features of construction to be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the sub-joined claims.

In the drawing in which similar numerals of reference refer to corresponding parts in the several figures, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a broom having my improved broom guard or bridle applied to the head thereof, with a dust cloth clamped to the broom-head by means of said guard or bridle.

Fig. 2 is an edge View of a broom showing my improved guard or bridle attached thereto, and the broom hung upon a nail or other support with the stick of the broom in depending position, the dust cloth being removed from the broom-head to show the manner of using the guard or bridle to maintain the head in proper condition. 7

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the guard or bridle showing the same in the position in which i it is used on a broom when sweeping.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the guard or bridle showing the same in the position in which it is used on a broom when serving to hang the broom on a nail, or other means of suspending the same.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, showing the side members of the guard or bridle drawn together and retained in such position.

The reference numeral 6 designates the broom provided with the usual handle I, the broomcorn forming the head of the broom being stitched together in the usual manner as indicated at 8. The guard or bridle is designated by the numeral 9 and is constructed of a single piece of resilient Wire having at one end an eye I 0 formed by coiling the extremity of the wire, and at its other end a lock stud H, which is passed through the eye l0 and extends a distance beyond said eye.

The bridle comprises two side clamping members l2 from opposite ends of which extend in an upward direction two pairs of edge members I 3, the members of each pair crossing, as at 24, and being coiled at their upper ends, as at i 5, the coils of each pair of members being connected by a saddle portion l6, which is adapted to straddle the adjacent edge of the broom as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 2.

The saddle portions [6 tend to draw the side members I2 toward each other so that when the bridle'is applied to a broom they are held against the sides of the broom with considerable pressure so as to hold the broomcorn of the broom head against spreading sidewise, while the saddle portions l6 prevent spreading of the broomcorn F edgewise, due to the action of the coils it on the saddle portions. While the saddle portions tend to draw the side members of the guard or bridle toward each other, these side members are at all times spaced 2. distance from each other,

but it will nevertheless be clear that the bridle is held to the broom by the inherent gripping or clamping qualities of the resilient wire from which it is formed, said qualities being acquired from the novel construction of the guard or bridle.

It is to be noted that the connection of the ends of the wire is made near one edge of the guard or bridle so that upon disconnecting the lock stud l I from the eye 16, an opening is provided at the side of the bridle through which the broom-head may be inserted, thus making it unnecessary to slip the guard or bridle downwardly along the full length of the handle before it can be moved downwardly on the broom-head, as required in guards or bridles of this general construction herein used.

I desire to call attention to the fact that the lock prong l l is at an angle to that portion of the side member of which it forms the extremity, and therefore a slight movement lengthwise of said side member is required while in the act of disconnecting the prong from the eye It. By reason of this inclination of the prong with respect to the side member from which it'extends, the tendency is to maintain the two portions of said side members in connected or locked condition.

The opposite side member i2 is provided midway between its ends with a loop or eye H which enables the broom to be suspended from a nail so that the tendency of the corn-broom of the broom-head to hex under weight of the broom when resting upon the broom-head, is entirely eliminated. Moreover, by forming the loop or eye ll on the side member opposite that having a point of separation, such as provided by the eye it and lock stud i i, no strain is placed upon said eye or look stud when the broom is supported in inverted position on a nail through the medium of the loop or eye ll. This guards against accidental separation of the ends of the wire forming the guard or bridle, particularlly when the broom is hurriedly hung upon a nail, or strain applied in haste to remove the broom from its hanging position.

In order that these bridles occupy comp-aratively little space when carried by canvassers, or when shipping for transportation, I preferably arrange to draw the side members of the guard or bridle into closer proximity than takes place under the inherent resiliency of the saddle portions i6, and when so positioned these side members are interlocked by engaging the projecting end of the lock stud on one side member with the opposite side member, as clearly illustrated at it, Figure 5. Entanglementoi the guards or bridles while being carried about in a case or bag by canvassers and others, is thus minimized, and while the compactness of the guards or bridles is desirable under such conditions, it is especially so when packing them for shipment, since they not only prevent entanglement of the guards or bridles with each other, but make it possible to handle them more conveniently during the act of packing the same.

When applying a cloth or other dusting material to the broom-head for dusting walls,1hardwood floors, etc, such as indicated at E9, Figure 1, it is simply necessary to spring out one of the side clamping members I2, place one end of the cloth underneath the same, and then release said member. After folding the cloth around the end of the broom-head the opposite end of the cloth may be placed underneath the other side clamping member in the same manner.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A broom bridle formed of resilient wire bent at two points between its ends to form curved saddle members adapted to embrace the edge of a broom-head, coils at the inner ends of each of said saddle members, crossed end members extending downwardly from the coils at each end of said bridle, and side members connecting said crossed end members, the ends of the wire terminating at one of said side members in closer relation to one end of said bridle than the other, one end of said wire being provided with an eye and the other with an upwardly-directed stud adapted to be passed through said eye and extending beyond the latter, said side members being held in definitely spaced relation under the action of said concaved saddle members with sufilcient inward force to clamp a broom-head from opposite sides when placed therebetween, said stud being adapted to engage the opposite side member to hold both members in closer related position when the bridle is removed from the broom.

2. A broom bridle formed of resilient wire bent at two points between its ends to form curved saddle members adapted to embrace the edge of a broom-head, coils at the inner ends of each of said saddle members, crossed end members extending downwardly from the coils at each end of said bridle and side members connecting said crossed end members, the ends of the wire terminating at one of said side members in closer relation to one end of said bridle than the other, one end of said wire being provided with an eye and the other with an upwardly-directed stud adapted to be passed through said eye and extend beyond the latter, the other side member having an eye midlength thereof, said side members being held in definitely spaced relation under the action of said curved saddle members with sufficient inward force to clamp a broom-head from opposite sides when placed therebetween, said stud being adapted to engage the opposite side member to hold both members in closely related position when the bridle is removed from the broom.

3. A broom bridle formed of resilient wire bent at two points between its ends to form saddle members adapted to embrace the edge of a broomhead, coils at the inner ends of each of said saddle members, crossed end members extending from the coils at each end of said bridle, and side members connecting said crossed end members, one end of said wire being provided with an eye at one of said side members and the other with a stud adapted to be passed through said eye and extend beyond the latter, said side members being held in definitely spaced relation under the action of said saddle members with suflicient force to clamp a broom-head from opposite sides when placed therebetween, said stud being adapted to engage the opposite side member to hold both members in closely related position when the bridle is removed from the broom.

ALBERT D. FIVESI-IILLING. 

